


Armaments of the Sheikah

by Aurya



Series: A Breath of Wilderness [10]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Female Link, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 00:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21217592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aurya
Summary: A lack of preparation could easily bring demise even to the mightiest of warriors.





	1. Akkala Ancient Tech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, back when I started this series, my intention was to do a LOT of sidequests. However, on closer inspection now that I'm actually in the mood to write a lot... there's only a few sidequests I can really justify doing. Actually, Robbie's Research is the only one I can do as its own bit. I need a justification for Link to have a stock of Ancient Arrows when she gets to Hyrule Castle. I might be able to do the Korok sidequests for the Master Sword entry... maybe I'll do the labyrinth shrines if I'm in a particularly eventful mood... and Eventide Island might make for an interesting writing experiment, but I always cheat that one by dropping the Champion arms before I set foot on the island.
> 
> Link's equipment inventory at the start of this chapter [currently equipped]:  
-Eightfold Blade  
-[Serpentine Spear]  
-Eightfold Longblade  
-[Phrenic Bow]  
-[Arrow ×60]  
-Fire Arrow ×10  
-Ice Arrow ×10  
-Shock Arrow ×10  
-Bomb Arrow ×10  
-[Shield of the Mind's Eye]  
-[Champion's Tunic]  
-[Hylian Hood]  
-[Hylian Trousers]  
(assorted armour which varies depending on the order you are reading this series, and will not be relevant to this fic)

"So, this is Akkala..."

Link had arrived in Hyrule's northeasternmost region; Purah had advised her to pay a visit to Robbie, who resided somwhere in this area. There was what looked like the ruins of a fortress on a nearby cliff, with a tower visible behind it - and Link was about to consider making her way there when she saw a sign in her path, showing how the path before her branched. One led to South Akkala Stable, and the other to South Lake Akkala.

The path to the stable didn't descend; Link spurred Lugria to head that way first, intending to regard the tower later.

As it happened, the stable was at the foot of the cliffs the tower was positioned on; Link stabled her horse and promptly made to climb, switching out her fork-tipped spear for a single-edged sword that would serve her better against whatever she happened to encounter. She had just barely reached the foundation of the ruined fortress when she found a threat she wasn't prepared for; a Guardian on propellors that have her quite the fright.

Just a moment of fear; then she thanked the goddess for her fortune, as the Guardian was hovering at such altitude it couldn't scale up to her vantage point. She didn't have much faith that it would be alone, but the Bokoblin on the fortress stairway was a more immediate threat - Link drew her sword and shield as soon as she was on solid footing, offing the creature in no more than five swings. The stairs were intact enough for her to elect to climb them, throwing another Bokoblin off the cliff as she came up to it; a thick curse found its way out of her mouth as she realized another soaring Guardian was just around the corner.

It saw her before she had the chance to take cover, and a red targeting beam connected its eye to her torso.

Link panicked; she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, took aim, and fired at the Guardian before it was done locking on. The arrow hit it clean in the eye and knocked its gaze in another direction; Link quickly dashed under it, and when its targeting beam found her again, she turned back around and fired another to divert it again. She rounded the corner and rapidly clambered into the rock formations the fortress was built on; after a long moment, the Guardian started to come closer... and then flew away again. She was outside of its patrol range.

She took a deep breath, continuing to climb up the stairs. There were trees growing on a landing she arrived at where the stairs changed directions; a Moblin and Bokoblin seemed to be picking a fight with a dead Guardian, and Link managed to hit the Moblin with fire, shock, and ice arrows in succession before a live guardian targeted her from behind. She put the frozen Moblin between her and its beam before it fired, then took cover behind some ruined walls until the Guardian took off; the Bokoblin wasn't thrown off the cliff as easily as the last, and she broke her sword on it as she finished it off.

The top of the fortress was near enough that Link elected not to try her luck with the Guardian; she climbed up the hard way, and found the base of the tower _swamped_ with Malice, broken structures like islands in the dark gunk. There were more Bokoblins here; Link tapped at her Sheikah Slate to give her a heavy longsword, saving her spear for use on horseback. A combination of swordplay and archery cleared off the towers' surroundings, leaving her only challenge being the climb itself.

The skies opened up, and rain began to fall; Link found a campfire and a pot burning beneath one of the roofs and elected to wait out the storm with some cooking.

She was grateful for it when the storm did indeed subside; the sun had long since set behind the clouds, and the cliff was cold at this hour. A spicy meal helped fend it off enough for her to keep moving - and she _did_ need to be moving, because the way the Malice had adhered to the tower meant climbing was a roundabout effort. When she finally reached the top, she set her Sheikah Slate in the pedestal and looked out over the view; Akkala was on Hyrule's eastern shore, and she could see the sun rising in the distance.

As the pedestal updated her map, Link spied something on the northern tip of the region; a strange structure, with a dark circle before it that looked suspiciously like an inactive travel gate.

* * *

Her paraglider got her safely back to the stable without getting the Guardians' attention or being reduced to paste on the rocks; she crashed for just a few hours and found it raining again. Deciding she'd better not hold up any longer, she got Lugria back out of the stable and started to ride north; the rain had cleared by the time she arrived at _another_ stable further north, but she elected not to stop by and continued up to what she was fairly certain was her intended destination.

Thus was her unpleasant surprise when a dead Guardian on the road up turned out to be not-quite-dead. Once again, she nailed it in the eye and continued out of its path before it could target her again; once it had gone still, she turned back to find she and Lugria were very near the building she had been going for.

Sure enough, there was a furnace outside.

She directed Lugria to a point where the Guardian wouldn't be able to shoot him and stepped up to the door, pushing it open uncertainly. There wasn't anyone in view, but there _was_ something standing in front of a post directly opposite the door; it was built rather strangely, with blue glows like Guardian patterns forming eyes, ears, and a mouth on an otherwise blank face. Mildly concerned, Link stepped up to it. "Hello?"

There was a sound from the shape that had Link covering her ears; it sounded like a blade being dragged across rock. "**I...it's...An...it's...**"

"Hey, you!" A voice from behind her drew Link's attention. "What are you doing here?" Then, as she turned around so that her hood wasn't hiding her face; "Hm? _Hmmm?_" There was a small Sheikah man about Impa's size standing there, wearing a pair of strange goggles, as well as a more homely Sheikah woman who looked rather curious.

"Um, hi," Link greeted. "I was told that I could find Robbie here?"

The man held out a hand, and then withdrew it. "Are you... the one called... Link?"

Link blinked. "Y-Yeah," she confirmed.

"Hm." The man set a hand on his chin. "That's too bad. If you **were** the legendary Link, there would be something important I'd need to tell you. But how can I determine with full certainty whether or not you are the true hero?"

"I suppose my word isn't much proof, is it," Link admitted.

"Yes." He contemplated a bit longer. "Hm, yes. If you can show me the wounds that your body suffered one hundred years ago, that should prove you are truly Link."

"Wounds..." Link wasn't sure what he was talking about until she remembered her scars; she hadn't taken much notice of them in the Shrine of Resurrection, but whenever she changed clothes, she'd noticed more than a few unpleasant marks on her torso. "Oh, yeah, just a moment..." She drew the Sheikah Slate off her hip, tapping at the screen for a moment; her Champion's Tunic vanished, leaving her sarashi and the belt her sword was hooked on; the flaps of her Hylian Hood rested awkwardly on her shoulders, the cap hanging over her back.

The man leaned forward. "Hm? Hm! Hmm..." Link was hoping he wouldn't ask her to undress further before he nodded. "Yes, the number of scars on your body... just as I remember." As he stood upright again, Link tapped at her Slate to put her tunic back on as he continued; "Most seem to have faded, but they do line up with the wounds I know you got during the Great Calamity one hundred years ago. Yes, I acknowledge you as the real Link. So, let us begin again."

Link drew her hood back. "Purah sent me here," she mused.

"Then she sent you here properly," the man mused. "I am the lead Guardian researcher and director of the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab - _Doctor Robbie!_"

He struck a dramatic pose, and Link could swear she heard a note from somewhere in the lab.

Quiet for a moment; then Link turned to the woman beside him. "And you would be?"

"Heya," the woman greeted. "I'm Jerrin." She raised a hand before her face, and her voice was surprisingly similar to Purah's as she mused, "Check it!"

_Oh,_ _wonderful. They're all isolation-crazy._

* * *

Stories needed be shared; Link told Robbie and Jerrin about what had happened to her, and what she had experienced with Impa and Purah. Robbie didn't seem terribly surprised to hear about Purah's condition, observing that "she's as crazy as ever" at a volume that assumed Link couldn't hear.

"So," Link mused, "what's the story with this place?"

"The goal of our Sheikah research lab is simple, really," Robbie mused. "We aim to destroy the Calamity that has endured across time... to rid Hyrule of its dark influence... and - above all - to rescue princess Zelda, who is now a prisoner of the Calamity." He shook his head. "We have worked ourselves to the bone conducting our research. For a time, I feared I'd pass before we could prevail."

His gaze shot up. "_However!_ You, Link, managed to awaken before this old sack of flesh gave out. That means... _The time is now!_" He struck another pose, and Link heard another note on the same source; her gaze went all across the lab trying to figure out where it was coming from. "You! Now is the time to join forces with us Sheikah, yes? We must destroy the Calamity!"

"Never thought anyone with such benevolent cause could be so eager about destruction," Link mused. "But yeah, let's do it."

Robbie's expression became one of joy. "Yes! That is correct! You and I are going to join forces to put an end to the Calamity!" He coughed lightly. "And on that note... Sorry for the long preamble, but I'd like to provide you with some ancient soldier gear."

"Ancient what, sorry?" Link asked.

At that, Robbie beckoned to the strange figure opposite the door. "Cherry-" He cut himself off when Jerrin glared at him. "...erm, the ancient oven... creates armaments for use against the Calamity. But I fear she's out of sorts at the moment."

"Does that have to do with the lack of fire on the furnace outside?" Link asked.

"Indeed," Robbie confirmed. "There is an ancient furnace at Tumela Heights, not far to the west; could I trouble you to light our furnace?"

"Not a problem," Link insisted. Then, glancing at her Sheikah Slate; "I am gonna need to borrow a torch, though."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My comment about not fighting a Lynel without gyroscopic archery also applies to Guardians. Frickers don't stay still enough for you to go for the eye.


	2. Arrows from the Hands of Hylia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco's first time at Akkala Ancient Tech Lab: "Here's a furnace I need to light, here's where I'm getting a blue flame from, here's a lake between the two. Let's find the path on foot. Oh, hey, there's a lot of Moblins along this route, probably best I get rid of them while I'm not carrying a torch, those things aren't good for durability."  
My first time at Akkala Ancient Tech Lab: "It's a straight line from point A to point B between two hills, I can save a lot of time by gliding in the direction I'm NOT carrying a torch on. Jeez, why is this end so much higher than- Oh frick you Moblins leave me alone!"
> 
> Link's equipment inventory at the start of this chapter [currently equipped]:  
-Torch  
-[Dragonbone Boko Club]  
-[Phrenic Bow]  
-[Arrow ×50]  
-Fire Arrow ×5  
-Ice Arrow ×5  
-Shock Arrow ×5  
-Bomb Arrow ×10  
-[Dragonbone Boko Shield]  
(assorted armour which varies depending on the order you are reading this series, and will not be relevant to this fic)

It was late at night when Link stepped back into the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab; Robbie and Jerrin immediately new something was up, because there was a _death __glare_ on her face, never mind the fact that her Sheikah-made weapon and shield had been traded for a Bokoblin's club and crude defense. She closed the door behind her and turned to Robbie, and Robbie swallowed heavily before asking, "Yes?"

"Did you even try?" Link demanded.

"Sorry?" Robbie asked.

Link jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "The blue flame. Did you even _try_ to go get that yourself and bring it here?"

Robbie bit his lip for a moment. "Well, no," he admitted. "It only went out quite recently, and... my body's not really up to climbing hills these days..."

"And you?" Link added, turning to Jerrin. "Did you try to go get it when he realized it had gone out?"

Jerrin weighed her options before deciding to come clean. "No, I didn't," she admitted.

Link nodded. "Good."

She drew the Sheikah Slate off her hip as Robbie and Jerrin traded looks. "I'm... sorry?" Jerrin asked.

"I said, _good_," Link insisted; the club on her back vanished, replaced with a torch that she quickly drew off and hurled back to the corner of the room she'd collected it from. "There were so many Moblins out there I don't think anyone who didn't know their way around a sword would last very long."

"I-I see," Robbie mused. "Is that so."

"Yeah." Link tapped her slate again, causing the club to reappear as she hooked it on her hip. "So, how's the oven?"

Robbie smiled. "Yes!" he confirmed. "Cherry is well again!"

Jerrin's glare found him in short order as Link mused. "I was hoping it was just the furnace not being lit," she mused. "I wouldn't trust myself to help you guys with anything more complicated than that."

"Nor would we ask you to," Robbie assured her. "Now, then." Jerrin stepped away from the ancient oven as Robbie continued; "Cherry can make all kinds of ancient soldier gear. If you're looking to acquire some, give your ancient materials andyourRupees to Cherry."

Link blinked at his quiet, rushed words. "I'm sorry, Rupees?"

Robbie's face fell. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "Ah, forgive me, Link. Ever since the fall of Hyrule Castle, we haven't had much in the way of funds for our research." His expression morphed into an awkward smile. "That's why I thought you might be able to help us out! With Rupees. Lots of them. _I BEG OF YOU!_"

"Calm down, there, rock wrecker," Link insisted. "Of course I'm willing to pay for this stuff." She shook her head. "That being said, the ancient materials are the important bit, right? I'm gonna need to take out some Guardians to get my hands on that stuff."

"Ah, speaking of..." Robbie stepped up to one desk, seizing something and returning. "Please, take these as a gift of my gratitude now that Cherry is fixed!"

Link accepted them, curiously; they were fletched like arrows, but the heads were something else - strange discs mounted on what looked like handles for Guardians' solid-light weapons, which themselves were tied to the arrow shaft. "What are they?" Link asked, touching her Sheikah Slate to two of them so that she could hold one without fear for dropping the others.

"They are made using Sheikah technology," Robbie explained. "With the addition of my upgrades they have morphed into anti-Calamity weapons! So to speak. I like to call them... _Ancient Arrows!_" He struck a pose, and that strange instrument sounded a note again.

"Ancient... Arrows?" Link drew her bow and made to nock it - and as soon as the notch in the fletch-tip of the arrow made contact with her bowstring, the disc turned, causing a solid-light blade to appear on its end.

"It's far too dangerous to try and make the Guardians our allies now. These arrows are designed to deal massive damage to the Guardians - and to the Calamity that has overtaken them."

Link's eyes widened. "Massive damage to the..." She raised her gaze. "Can you hold on for ten seconds?"

Jerrin turned and watched as Link dashed out the door so hard the door was knocked back to a closed position behind her. A pause... then there was the sound of a Guardian targeting, and then of a powerful _blast_.

A long pause; then Link stepped back in, at a much slower pace, her bow dangling off her wrist from the string as she closed the door behind her and turned to Robbie.

Robbie smiled. "So," he mused, "what do you need - besides a Hylia-send?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting ancient soldier gear requires killing Guardians for parts and a amassing frickton of Rupees. The higher-end Guardian parts happen to sell for a lot of Rupees. I never get anything but Ancient Arrows.


End file.
